The Relationship Between Vocational & Higher Education: Time For A Re-Charge?

In both the UK and EU there is a growing awareness of the need for Higher and Further Education (HEIs / FEIs) institutions to work together to provide high quality engineering courses able to meet the needs of an increasingly technical and knowledge-based economy (Barrichello et al., 2020, Giraldo, 2022). This paper focuses on learning and teaching in one particular engineering area, that of ‘electrification’, it reflects upon moves to create a regional multi-level educational strategy built upon the development of expertise at partner FEIs. As one of the UK’s leading Engineering Education providers at tertiary level, WMG is leading this boundary-crossing project. An Action Research approach has been developed that transcends organisational competitiveness by creating a multi-level approach to the provision of electrification skills amongst the population of the West Midlands. Four different project objectives have been developed: 1. Analyse stakeholder need from the perspective of employers, students and colleges. 2. Analyse extant provision per FEI in terms of physical and human resources. 3. Identify any gaps in provision of training available within the region. 4. Develop a plan for the establishment of Centres of Excellence across the region. This paper discusses the need for synergising provision within what is very much a Quasi Market (Donovan, 2019). It suggests that rather than compete with each other, FEIs need to be working together, and in partnership with HE, create high quality, industry driven and cohesive regional provision. In an emerging field such as ‘electrification’ (of transport and in terms of new battery technologies), the need for regional focus and expert leadership has become increasingly important.